


Kittens

by Mollymawk



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Domesticity, Established Relationship, Futurefic, Living Together, M/M, fluff and kittens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-18
Updated: 2013-06-18
Packaged: 2017-12-15 08:37:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/847497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mollymawk/pseuds/Mollymawk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Go away, I hate you,” he muttered. He wasn't even sure which kitten it was, but he was pretty sure he hated it all the same</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kittens

**Author's Note:**

> A bit of fluffy domesticity written for my dear friend Skyler, one of the two people who encouraged me to pick up Persona 4 and gave me a whole new fandom and this most beloved OTP. They wanted to see some futurefic of these two living together and being adorable, and that's my fanfic bread and butter, yo.

 It started far too early in the morning. It always did.

One moment Yosuke was sleeping peacefully, the next he was awake and trying to figure out why he was awake. He stiffened in the futon, blinked his eyes open, and the answer was staring him in the face.

Literally.

It was still dark, but enough pre-dawn light was filtering in the window to make the pointy-eared silhouette visible. He heard the tiny thrumming sound that could only be called a purr if he was being generous, and he wasn't feeling generous this early in the morning. Standing on his chest was a kitten, and it was staring at him with rapt fascination.

“Myaa!” the rude awakener announced.

“Go away, I hate you,” he muttered. He wasn't even sure which kitten it was, but he was pretty sure he hated it all the same. All three of them were guilty of early morning chest-sitting, after all. And they only did it to him.

The kitten thrummed louder, as if delighted by his answer, leaning its face in closer to sniff intently at him. Its thrumming adjusted in time with its sniffing as it invaded far too close into his personal space, making the little beast sound more like a scooter with starter problems. “Myaa!” it announced again, confirming he was awake, and then it apparently forgot about him, leaping off the futon and galloping out of the room.

He groaned and rolled over, scowling at the still-sleeping form of his partner. That horrible creature and the others were all Souji's cats, and yet Souji was never awakened like this. True, he was a much heavier sleeper than Yosuke, but the cats didn't make a game out of sitting on his head while he was sleeping. It was totally and completely unfair. But complaining about it would do no good. Souji would just chuckle softly and remind him that cats know who to annoy. That they can smell hate.

Okay, he didn't really hate them. He just wasn't much of a cat person. He'd say he wasn't a cat person at all. But Souji was, and Yosuke had a very hard time saying “no” to his partner. Even when it was the dreaded “can I keep her?” question. It came up after Souji had spent several weeks feeding a stray in the alley that ran behind their apartment building. Yosuke kept warning him that he'd get attached, but Souji kept feeding the little grey cat anyway, and by then it was too late. With great reluctance he'd agreed that “Kasumi” could join their little household. Knowing little of cats, he thought that she was recovering rather quickly from her time as a stray, fattening up from frequent meals and a warm place to sleep. Until the day he discovered her nursing three little kittens, kittens she'd had in a nest she made herself in the basket of laundry he'd procrastinated on putting away.

From that point on, life had become pain for Yosuke. Well, no, just a new kind of pain. The pain of tiny little claws hooking into his pants as a kitten decided it needed to be in his lap. The pain of his models and knickknacks being unceremoniously knocked off any surface the little monsters could reach. The pain of hauling home a bag of cat food from work because it just slipped Souji's mind and it'd be convenient for him to bring it home, right? The pain of relenting on his litter box stance when Souji was stressing over his studying and didn't seem to notice the growing aroma of ammonia and baking soda as keenly as Yosuke did.

Worst of all, the pain of never being allowed to sleep in again. Nearly every night, there would be some feline shenanigans that woke him up, usually multiple times, and often in that iffy period before the alarm went off that made going back to sleep futile. And yet Souji was able to sleep through it. He was able to sleep through all three of the kittens running up and down the bed, or when one of them found something crinkly and brought it into the bedroom to investigate its obnoxious noise-making qualities in detail.

He looked over to the other pillow again. Yup, his partner was still fast asleep, on his side and facing into the center of the bed. Sure, they went to sleep cuddled close—Yosuke was very fond of that—but before he managed to doze off, a cat or two had tried to worm their way into the warmth between them. Yosuke couldn't wait for the kittens to be a little bit bigger, so that he could nudge them off the bed with his feet and still have a clear conscience.

He had to admit, Kasumi was a nice enough cat, in his opinion. Which was to say that she usually didn't bother him. She tended to hide out from the kittens a lot, especially now that they saw everything in the world as their personal playthings. So he didn't see much of her, or when he did, she was giving him a look that seemed to be pleading for him to not let the kittens in on her hiding place. It was the kittens that were the real terrors, and even their own mother thought so.

A skittering sound was coming from another room, followed by a thump and a high-pitched squeaking sound. Yosuke looked back at his partner, still sleeping and blissfully unaware of the kitten catastrophe that was going on elsewhere in the apartment. Sighing, he slid out from under the blankets and out into the cold air. He'd better find out what they were destroying and try to stop it.

Navigating from the bedroom in the near-dark was hazardous, because the instant he got to his feet, one of the monsters came to investigate. From the light-colored fur, he guessed that this one was Yuki, but he couldn't be positive. He had to walk slow and be careful, and the tiny creature knew it, walking in front of him as if daring him to be so cruel as to kick a kitten. He was sorely tempted, but of course he wouldn't give in. Besides the fact that he'd never hear the end of it from Souji, he wasn't the sort of person who would want to kick a kitten, no matter how annoying said kitten was.

He finally managed to step around the kitten, and it repaid his courtesy by latching its tiny little claws into his pajamas, right above his ankle. He stopped, and the kitten stopped too, one paw still attached to his pants. “Oh for- come here,” he muttered, bending down and reaching for the monster to unhook its needle-sharp claws from his pantleg. It squirmed in his hand, and once its paw was free, it grabbed him around his wrist with its forelegs and then bunny-kicked with its backlegs.

“Ow, dammit! Geez, you're welcome.” Yosuke pulled his hand free to inspect it. No broken skin, no blood, just little red lines where the claws had connected. Meanwhile, the kitten dashed onward.

As he got to the kitchen and turned on a light, the source of the earlier crash became apparent. The horrible creatures had upended their food dish, and two of them—Hoshiko and Gin—were sitting next to it looking innocent. He didn't buy it for one moment. “I hope that dish was empty when you did that,” he told them.

“Myaa!” said Hoshiko. Thinking back, the kitten who had awakened him had that namesake patch of white on her forehead, so he was unsurprised at her strident announcement this time.

“Fine, I'll feed you, but first I'm starting some coffee.” He turned his back on the kittens and made good on his word. His partner had already filled the coffee maker with water the night before, so all Yosuke had to do was add the new filter and start it up. It took only a few moments to prepare, but he was rudely interrupted for the second time this morning.

This time the interruption came in the form of tiny little claws working their way up his pantleg. “Ow, ow, ow, ow, stoppit!” he hissed, wrenching around to see Hoshiko clinging to his hip.

“Myaa!” she said again, and he guessed that this time it was a condemnation of his decision to put feeding cats on a lower priority than making coffee. Just as he was starting to think that it was a wonder his pants were holding up, the elastic waistband gave way and they fell down to his ankles, with kitten attached. Her claws left marks all the way down.

Yosuke stood still, unable to parse what had just happened to him. A kitten had just depantsed him. After waking him up far too early, a kitten had climbed up his pants and pulled them down because he hadn't fed her right away. He turned toward the countertop and put his head in his hands, taking a deep breath before lifting his head and pulling his pants back up.

Now all three kittens were in the kitchen, gathered around their food dish and mewing insistently at him. He missed the days when their mother took care of feeding them. As if summoned by his thoughts, sleek grey Kasumi slipped into the kitchen, sitting next to her three offspring and staring at him with impatience in her green eyes.

“Fine. I get it. You get fed first.” He sighed and went for the cabinet where the bag of catfood was stored. They were so impatient to eat that they stuck their heads into the dish before he'd even finished pouring, and a few bits of kibble bounced off their heads to skitter across the floor. With a low mutter he crouched down to pick them up and put them in the dish, earning an indignant “nyaaoooo!” from one of the kittens displaced in the process.

“Would it kill you to show a bit of gratitude?” he muttered, finally able to return to starting his coffee. His shift didn't start for a few hours, but at this point he decided he might as well stay awake. The kittens might eat their fill and go sleep it off, but it was far more likely they'd eat for just a few minutes before dashing off to get into more trouble. Of course, now that he decided to stay up, they'd decide to nap for the rest of the morning. He was almost counting on it.

He leaned against the counter while the water boiled, thinking over what was awaiting him today. A shorter shift than usual, and Souji only had a couple classes today, so they might even get a free evening. The last time they'd had more than a few hours in the day together was over a week ago, so he hoped they'd be able to make the most of it today, even if it was just watching a movie, or Yosuke playing a video game while Souji did his reading for class in the same room (and pointed out all the powerups Yosuke was missing in his playthrough). Maybe to some people that would be the definition of a dull night, but for the two of them, it was very comforting. Considering what had faced them when they first met, having a boring night together was like a reward for sticking it through. Any night spent with Souji leaning comfortably against him was a good night in Yosuke's book, even if all they did was just sit together like that. It was the closeness that mattered to him. Just being in his partner's presence was enough for him, most of the time. Souji was so calm, so good at putting him at ease. Spending quiet moments together made the roar and stress of work and bills and everything else fade away, at least for a little while.

Sometimes he wondered what Souji got out of this deal, because it seemed pretty one-sided to him. It had to be something, because he was still here with him. They lived together. They took care of each other. They shared a futon, and sometimes did more than just sleeping in it. He felt a warm flush in his cheeks thinking about that. Yes, the last time they'd had a couple hours together had been very nice...

His partner was a pretty amazing guy. If he was willing to put up with Yosuke, Yosuke was willing to put up with some kittens.

“Looks like you haven't had your coffee yet.”

Yosuke blinked and looked up. While he was lost in thought, Souji had appeared in the doorway, leaning against the refrigerator and giving him one of those small little smiles that was mostly in his eyes. He couldn't help but grin in response to it, even as he ducked his head. “Yeah, not yet. They kinda insisted on getting fed first. Did I wake you?” he asked, worried. If it was earlier than he had to be up, it was definitely far too early for Souji.

“Don't worry about it,” his partner said with a shake of his head. “I've got some more reading to get done before class, so I might as well do it now. And I thought I told you that they'll never be patient when it comes to mealtime.” His smile brightened as he looked at the cats, still tails-up at the food dish.

Yosuke felt a tiny twinge of jealousy that the horrible monstrous creatures were earning one of his partner's amazing smiles, then shoved the thought down as incredibly pointless. It wasn't like Souji's adoration of his cats meant that he didn't have enough attention for his partner! He really needed that coffee. Turning back to the machine, he got it started on brewing. “It'll be a few minutes,” he apologized. “I guess I did zone out a bit.”

“That's alright.” Souji moved closer, wrapping an arm around Yosuke's waist. “You know, they pick on you because of how you react.”

He narrowed his eyes, even as he wormed his way into the half-embrace offered to him. “What, you're saying they're doing this out of spite?”

Souji grinned. “Not exactly, but cats like to get reactions. And you've got some amazing reactions.”

“You'd know,” he muttered. “Then again, you missed it today. Hoshiko climbed my leg and pulled my pants down.”

Souji laughed, a soft sound that was more felt than heard. Yosuke basked in the feel of it, even if it was at his own expense. “She pulled your pants down? I thought that was my job.”

“Uh, well,” he stammered, suddenly flushing with his mind on a much different track. His partner definitely noticed, because he moved his hand a bit further down from his waist.

“So does this mean you don't mind a few scratch marks?” Souji murmured into his ear, making him squirm and flush deeper. “I'll keep that in mind.”

It drove him crazy when he did this, and he knew it. Which was why he was doing it. He'd said it himself, Yosuke had some amazing reactions. Turning toward him and clearing his throat, he murmured, “You don't have to do your reading now, do you?”

“No, it can wait,” he agreed, his voice sending a shiver up Yosuke's spine.

“Good,” and he tilted his head up to meet his partners lips, closing his eyes at the moment of the soft touch. He heard Souji's throaty murmur of delight, felt his fingers thread into the shaggy hair at his nape, felt the soft scratch of his stubble against his own. He pressed against his partner, his solid frame, his steadiness, his- well, his anticipated reaction to what they were doing. Encouraged by that, he slid his hands down to the hem of his shirt.

Souji cut their kiss off with a gasp. “I think coffee can wait too, how about you?”

“Yeah, I think we've got something to do back in the bedroom.”

“I've got a lot of things to do to you,” Souji corrected, making him shiver again. He was, er, reacting, too. And Souji knew it, because he grinned. “C'mon,” he said, his hand slipping into the spaces between his fingers and tugging gently.

“Gladly,” he said with a strained gasp, following his steps back to the bedroom. “Just one thing, partner?”

“Yeah?” Souji asked over his shoulder.

Yosuke grinned. “Let's remember to shut the door this time. This is a private performance, no spectators allowed,” and he glared pointedly down at the kittens that had innocently followed them out of the kitchen.

Souji laughed. “Definitely.” He shooed the kittens away from the door with his feet, then as pulled Yosuke in. “And I have just one thing too,” he said as the door clicked closed behind them.

“What's that?” Yosuke asked, already reaching for his partner's shirt.

“You know how cats are about closed doors.”

Yosuke scowled, pulling Souji's shirt off and pushing him down onto the futon. Sure enough, there was already a tiny forlorn wail coming from the other side of the door.

Souji pushed himself up on his elbow and grinned at him. “Or I could give you something else to think about instead. A lot of somethings.”

He fought back his flush. All this time together, and Souji's very obvious attraction to him still caught him off guard. “Show me what you've got, partner,” he replied, crouching over him. “'Cause I think you owe me.”

“Yeah, I do.” Souji reached for him.

Maybe waking up earlier than planned wasn't such a bad thing. Maybe the kittens had done him a favor after all.   


End file.
